i have been playing guitar for 3 years but now i am interested in playing bass.
i have a tight budget ($2-300) and i need a bass guitar and amp. i want the guitar to be decent enough so i dont have to upgrade in a year because its garbage, and i need the amp big enough to perform in an a big[ish] auditorium. i have looked at squiers but most i find are the cheap ones from those packs they sell at costco... are those even worth half of the $100 dollars people are asking for them? if you guys know any good basses and amps that would work well for me, please comment below

With that kind of budget, you really are limited to an amp or a bass, and either way, neither will be anything near spectacular. Ibanez makes some good, cheap basses, and their starter packages include a half decent amp, but nothing near the size to play an auditorium. Like Chuckles says above, amp or bass for that price, but not both, unless you manage to find one hell of a deal on ebay or at a garage sale or summat.

i understand my budget is super tight.. with my old 10 watt amp i was able to turn it up enough to play in the auditorium (did it once for fun) but anyways i WILL buy used on craigslist or guitar center. as far as cheap amps and basses go, which brands will produce the best playability and sound?

Amp brands you should look at: Ashdown (Especially if in the UK), Acoustic (If in the US), Kustom, Peavey, and if you're really trying to keep it cheap Behringer (the BXL series amps weigh a ton, the sound is meh, but they're pretty tough to break and are cheap)
Bass brands I don't really know, it'll be whatever shows up in the used market really cheap. Possibly squier, yamaha or ibanez but otherwise any fender clone will probably do the job fine. The Rondo stuff is supposed to be pretty good, and you don't get much cheaper than that.

I'm not the most experienced with playing many different basses but the Squier Vintage Modified series is brilliant for the price ($200 ish). I own a Jaguar and I love it, the P/J pickup setup is versatile. I love turning up the J pickup when I want more clarity and the P pickup gives it that oomph behind it. Cranking both of them gives a nice punchy tone for slapping. Thats just my preference though

I think you can find old Peavey amps for cheap. Here in Finland there are always some old used Peavey TNT and TKO amps in sale and they usually cost less than €150. I have seen some for under €100. And prices in Finland are much higher than in the USA. So I think with $100 in the USA you might be able to buy more than with €100 in Finland when it comes to guitar gear.

Try to find a decent used bass. You might find a used Squier VM bass for (maybe under) $200.

300 bucks is not as tight as you might think. Don't forget you'll need cable, and tuner as well.

On GC's used section they have quite a few Squier affinities for around the 100 dollar mark, some even less.
As far as amps go there Gallien Kruegers, Ashdowns and a few Kustoms around the 150 dollar range.

Don't forget to ask a ton of questions if you go used. Especially conserning frets and wiring.

No seriously, why cant you just play guitar, in metal cant even hear the bass... Bands like animals as leaders dont even have a bass player.

are you ******ed? Without a bass metal sounds really thin and weak. You might not notice you're hearing it but that's because it's blended in well with the guitar tracks to make them sound fuller, but it is definitely there.

also I just listened to one of their tracks on youtube and even if they don't have one live they've used one in studio.

No seriously, why cant you just play guitar, in metal cant even hear the bass... Bands like animals as leaders dont even have a bass player.

I guarantee you there are far more bands without guitarists than there are without bassists. Perhaps not in that little ignorant musical bubble of the typical guitard where there is no music beyond Led Zeppelin or AC/DC. Expand your musical horizons a little and you'll realise why an attitude like that makes you look like a complete mouth-breather.

I guarantee you there are far more bands without guitarists than there are without bassists. Perhaps not in that little ignorant musical bubble of the typical guitard where there is no music beyond Led Zeppelin or AC/DC. Expand your musical horizons a little and you'll realise why an attitude like that makes you look like a complete mouth-breather.

Led Zeppelin has very cool basslines in almost every song. Some AC/DC songs too ("Love Hungry Man" would be nothing without the bassline). And really, the simple bassline/rhythm guitar/drums make the AC/DC songs. If they were more progressive, it would not sound good. So you need those basslines and if you removed the bass, the song would lose the balls. But yeah, that comment was obvious troll and isn't worth to be answered.

But the point is, no instrument is useless and every instrument should be respected. And bass is very important, even if you didn't hear it. You still hear the lack of it. If its role was to make the guitar sound more huge, so what? You play music to sound good, not to play the most interesting parts. And that's why bassist are needed. A band won't sound good without it (though there are some guitar-drum duos).

And Animals As Leaders have two guitarists but both play 8 string guitars that can play as low notes as bass. You can do basslines on keyboards (like The Doors). But still you need a bass, not necessarily a bass guitar.

Led Zeppelin has very cool basslines in almost every song. Some AC/DC songs too ("Love Hungry Man" would be nothing without the bassline). And really, the simple bassline/rhythm guitar/drums make the AC/DC songs. If they were more progressive, it would not sound good. So you need those basslines and if you removed the bass, the song would lose the balls. But yeah, that comment was obvious troll and isn't worth to be answered.

I'm perfectly aware of the significance of JPJ in Led Zeppelin and I'm a fan of his playing... not the point really. I've observed too many a guitarist who think that their musical tastes are somehow diverse or complex because they like Led Zeppelin... too many who immerse themselves in nothing but guitar-driven music which causes my ears to fatigue after not-too-long.

Well, you have a really tight budget there... The best, cheap basses I've known are SX (or Essex, I think in America they're Rondo) so get one used for $50-100. Forget about head/cab config. Get a 100 watt 1X15" combo (if possible more, but i doubt you can) of whatever brand you may find. Peavey Kustom and Acoustic are the brands to look for if you're willing to have an amp to last.

Good luck with this, tell us how did it go.

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatalGear41

When you break a bass string, that snapping sound is the sound of six dollars going down the crapper.